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babybluebex · 2 years

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hellooo, i just want to say that i’m OBSESSED with innocent reader and eddie, it’s so cute and hot and everything in between.

in this universe, is reader friends with the gang? like, does she knows robin and nancy? maybe steve from afar. how do you think nancy and robin would react if they find out (maybe you told them in a girls night) how your relationship with eddie started?

, you don’t have to answer this i just want you to know that your writing is REALLY GOOD

i was wanting to introduce everyone else so here's a good time to do it! cw innocent reader, dubcon, coercion, steddie x reader if you squint, steve and eddie are really mean to nancy and robin, names (princess, baby, pumpkin, bitch)

"Hey, princess?" Eddie started, and you turned from your light conversation with Gareth to pay attention to your boyfriend. Monday’s spat with Gareth was already forgotten by the time you got to lunch on Friday, and he was happy to talk to you. Although you missed the looks that Eddie would shoot Gareth every so often, it was fine; what you didn't know wouldn't hurt you.

"Yeah?" you prompted Eddie.

"I'm meeting a friend tonight," Eddie started. "And I was wondering if you wanted to meet him too."

"Who?" you asked.

"Well, do you remember Steve Harrington?" Eddie said, and you gasped and nodded. Steve had been your crush since freshman year, with his big puppy-dog eyes and amazing hair, and, even though you liked Eddie a whole lot, Stevie still had a special little place in your heart. Before Eddie, you always hoped that Stevie would be your first kiss. "I was gonna hang out with him. How'd you like to meet him?"

"Oh, Daddy!" you exclaimed and threw your arms around Eddie's shoulders, squeezing his neck in a tight hug. "I'd love to meet him! Will he, um, will he like me?"

"Well, what's this shyness?" Eddie chuckled. "Why do you care if Steve likes you?"

"Um, b-because he's your friend," you said quickly. "A-And I want your friends to like me."

"Do you like Steve?" Eddie asked, and you ducked your head as you fluttered your eyelashes. You always got out of trouble by fluttering your eyelashes, and you watched as Eddie fell victim to them. He softened under your grasp, and he said, "Of course you do, girls love the Hair. I've told him all about you, baby, and he's dying to meet you."

"Really?" you asked. "Well, umm, okay! I-I'd like to meet Stevie."

"Cool," Eddie said. "It's just at his house, me and you and him. We can go straight there after school, it's not like he's got anyone waiting for him." Gareth smothered a laugh at that, and you furrowed your eyebrows.

"Oh, no, not then," you said. "I wanna go home and change clothes, a-and I wanna..."

"You wanna what?" Eddie asked, and he put a finger under your chin, lifting you up out of your hiding place. "Princess, I hate when you trail off like that. Just tell me what you're thinking."

"I wanna bake him cookies," you said softly. "But, umm, not if you think it's lame or whatever."

Eddie laughed, his smile a mile wide as he leaned forward and kissed your mouth. He tasted like the cigarette he had just smoked as he had skipped pre-lunch gym period, but you liked it. "That's not lame, princess," he said. "Steve will love it."

"Oh, yay!" you smiled. "Umm, maybe you can pick me up at my house after 5? I'll get home after school around 3:30 because I have to take the bus, and getting dressed, and the cookies'll take—"

"I'll be at my place," Eddie interjected, interrupting your ramblings. "Give me a call whenever you're ready to go and I'll be there to pick you up. Alright?"

"That sounds good," you said, and you chewed at your bottom lip, still trying to calculate in your head how long the cookies would take. "Does Stevie like chocolate? Could I make chocolate chip and he would like them?"

"Baby, you could spit in those cookies and he'd love them," Eddie said, popping a pretzel into his mouth. "Just 'cause they're coming from you. Don't worry your pretty little head about it, yeah?"

You tried not to worry about it for the rest of the day, but you were practically shaking with excitement at the prospect of meeting Steve Harrington. You wondered how Eddie and Steve had even met, but you didn't care all too much about it; all the stars were aligning for you. Your boyfriend was friends with Steve Harrington, and that's all that mattered to you.

Once you got home, you instantly started on the cookies, greeting your mom with a kiss on the cheek as you slumped your backpack down and got to work. "What're you making?" your mom asked, and you shut the fridge door with your foot, your arms loaded with the milk and eggs.

"Cookies!" you said. "I'm going over to a friend's house and wanted to bring them something."

"That's nice of you, honey," she said. "Remember not to burn the bottoms."

"Okay!"

In the end, the cookies came out perfectly, the bottoms only just a little crunchier than you would have liked, but you heeded Eddie's words that Steve wouldn't mind if there was a little something wrong with them. You spent the next hour getting ready, putting on your favorite pink dress and doing your makeup and hair to be perfect, and you finally smoothed down your skirt and called Eddie.

"Jesus, Steve, we just got off the phone," Eddie answered, his annoyance thick in his voice. "I told you I'm bringing her, chill out."

"Um, hi, Daddy," you said, your heart lodging in your throat. "I-I'm ready for you to come get me."

"Oh," Eddie sighed. "Hi, princess. Give me a minute and I'll be on my way, okay?"

"Mhm," you agreed. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Eddie said. "Steve's just acting like a dick. He really wants to meet you, that's all."

Your excitement made your hands shake. "I'm excited to meet him too," you said, and Eddie chuckled.

"I bet you are, princess," he said. "I'll be right over. Can you be good and wait outside for me? I kinda don't want tonight to be the night I meet your parents."

"Sure," you said. "I get it, meeting the parents is scary. Or, like, I think it is. I'm scared to meet your parents. Like, what if they don't like me?"

"My mom would love you," Eddie said, his words clipped as if he hadn't even meant to say them. "She'd... She would've loved you."

"And your dad?" you mumbled.

"Fuck my dad," Eddie said flatly. "I don't care about him. Hopefully you never meet him. Anyway, I don't feel like doing that tonight, so wait outside for me, okay?"

You did as Eddie told you to, waiting outside on your curb for him, your cookies in a Tupperware container in your lap. Eventually, after waiting for much longer than you thought it would take, Eddie's van pulled onto your street. You could hear the music from outside the van as he pulled up next to you, and you watched him lean over and push open the passenger side door. The music got louder and you cringed at it, but you climbed in all the same and buckled up your seatbelt.

"Hey, princess," Eddie said, twirling the knob on his radio system and silencing his music. "Sorry, I like it loud."

"That's fine," you said. "It just hurts my ears."

"Aw," Eddie pouted, and he pulled the van into gear as he peeled away from your house. "We don't want your ears hurting. I'll keep it quiet."

He didn't drive as badly as you had anticipated he would, and you felt safe with him. You always did, though— Eddie had a way about him that made you feel safe and loved. You weren't even a little bit shocked to find that you liked Eddie a whole lot, maybe even loved him, but you were sure that he didn't love you back yet. You didn't want to tell him anything before it was the right time, though, and scare him away. You had always heard about that sort of thing in movies, girls telling boys that they loved them and "scaring them away".

All too soon, you were pulling up in front of a nice house in a nice neighborhood, and you gripped your Tupperware tightly as Eddie got out of the van, pocketing his keys. He was quick to run around to your door and open it for you, and you giggled at him as you hopped out. "Thank you, Daddy," you said, but you watched as Eddie's face fell as he turned to Steve's house, eyeing the carport and the two cars that sat there.

"Jesus Christ," he mumbled, and he snatched up your hand, leading you up to the front door. He knocked quickly a few times, and you watched his teeth grind in that way that they did when he was annoyed.

"Did I do something wrong?" you mumbled, and Eddie shook his head.

"Not you, baby," Eddie said. "But Steve said—"

Before you knew it, the front door flew open, and there stood Steve Harrington. You were starstruck and felt your eyes go wide, wide, wide at the sight of him, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, his perfect hair done just so. "What the fuck?" Eddie asked.

"She just fuckin' showed up," Steve huffed. "I didn't invite her. And she brought Robin too."

"Robin..." Eddie sighed. "Fine. Whatever. We can do it after they leave."

"Once they see her with you, they're never gonna leave," Steve said, gesturing to you. "Fuck, dude, I can try to get them to go—"

"Who?" you asked softly. "Who's here? Did I do something wrong?"

“Baby, I told you, it’s not you,” Eddie said firmly. “Nancy Wheeler’s here. You know Nancy, right? She’s in your class. She showed up uninvited.”

“That’s not very nice,” you frowned.

“See? Even she knows it,” Steve sighed, brushing his hair back in annoyance. “Sorry, baby. I’m Steve.”

“I know,” you said, holding back your giggles, and Steve smiled, looking at Eddie.

“Well, she’s adorable,” Steve said. “I like your dress. Very pink.”

“It’s my favorite color,” you told him.

“I bet it is,” Steve grinned. “What’re you holding there?”

“Cookies!” you said proudly, holding out the cookies to him and grinning. “I made them just for you. But I only made enough for the three of us…”

“See? Nancy’s a bitch,” Steve said, working open the Tupperware’s lid and pulling a cookie to his lips. “Doesn’t think about anyone but herself.” He bit into it and your heart stopped as you waited for his reaction, and you sighed when he smiled. “Delicious, baby. You’re gonna have to make me cookies more often.”

“Anything for you, Stevie,” you told him, blushing hard, and Steve reached out and touched your cheek.

“Someone’s got a little crush,” Eddie said, almost like he was explaining you to Steve, and Steve grinned.

“That’s so cute,” Steve said. “I get what Eddie was talking about, you’re just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Then, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your cheek, and you squeaked and froze. Steve Harrington had just kissed you on the cheek! You tried to hide your excitement from Eddie, but Eddie just smiled and laughed at your antics.

“Alright, enough kissing my girlfriend,” Eddie said. “Let’s go inside, yeah?”

You nodded, stepping inside and toeing out of your shoes, and you followed Steve into the depths of the house. His house was big, bigger than yours, and you clutched Eddie's hand as you followed the two boys down to the basement. There, there were two recliners facing a large television, a full VHS system plugged in, a movie paused. You had known that Steve's parents were rich, but the finished basement and subtle expensive luxuries (you wondered how much a TV that size costed) were more than you could have imagined.

And standing by the TV were Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley. Nancy looked as annoyed as Steve and Eddie were, her arms crossed and her foot tapping, and you almost missed the way her eyes softened when she saw you. "Oh," Nancy started. "Who's this?"

"Eddie's girlfriend," Steve said quickly. "Now, I told you I had plans and shit, so why don't you go ahead and—"

"I'm Nancy," the girl told you, sticking out a hand towards you. You looked at Eddie, biting your bottom lip, and you were quick to shake Nancy's hand and tell her your name. "I know you; we were in Kaminsky's class together a few years ago."

"Oh, yeah," you said softly. You had hated chemistry and tried everything to forget it, and you seemed to have successfully forgotten about being in the same class as Nancy Wheeler. "I forgot, I guess."

"You and Eddie, huh?" Nancy said. "How did you meet?"

You stuttered for words, looking from Nancy to Eddie. His words still rang in your head, how people would make fun of you if they knew how you and him had met, and you were sure that Nancy would be one of the ones to do it. She had always seemed a little stuck-up, and it frightened you. "U-Um, I bought weed from him," you said. "And we just started talking, y'know?"

Eddie patted your back as he stepped from behind you, following Steve into a separate room, and you sighed a little when the door to the room closed. "Is that it?" Nancy asked. "You don't really strike me as the type to smoke."

"Um, I'm not," you said. "But my friends, they wanted me to buy it last week because they said that Eddie would like me and give me a discount."

"Did it work?" Nancy asked as Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," you said. "I ended up not paying for it."

Nancy shifted uncomfortably, and you did the same, feeling strange under her gaze. "Well, what did you do?" she asked. "'Cause Eddie wouldn't just not let you pay."

"Umm..." you started, looking at Nancy, then at Robin, and your shivering got too great. You needed to tell somebody, if for nothing else than to just share it. Keeping the secret was torture for you, and you were bursting to share it with someone. "You can't tell anyone, okay? Eddie said people would call me a... A, umm, what's it called? A slut. He said people would call me a slut."

"Oh, sweetheart," Nancy started. "What did Eddie make you do?"

"He didn't make me do anything," you said firmly. "I wanted to do it. But he asked me to lift up my shirt and show him my..." You hesitated to use the word that Eddie had, but Nancy's eyes went wide all the same in understanding.

"And you did?" she asked, and you nodded. "Oh my God, I can't believe him!"

"That's so fucked up," Robin said, frowning greatly. "I always told you that I didn't like Eddie, and here's why."

"I thought maybe there was something redeemable there," Nancy said. "But taking advantage of her like this—"

"He didn't do that," you told her quickly, fear flashing in your heart. You knew what 'taking advantage of' someone meant, and Eddie hadn't done that to you. "No, no, Daddy would never!"

"You call him Daddy?" Robin asked. "Does he makes you do that?"

"No," you said. "I-I thought it was cute..."

"What else has Eddie done?" Nancy asked. "Has he made you do anything else? Like, things you didn't like or didn't wanna do?"

"Well," you started. "Umm, we had a really weird phone call last Friday where he asked me what I was wearing and then told me he spilled something and made a mess. He was just acting funny, and it made me a little worried. A-And on Monday, he kissed me but I kinda wasn't ready for it. I, umm, always wanted Steve to be my first kiss, but that's okay; I'm not dating Steve, I'm dating Eddie."

"What a perv," Robin grumbled. "You know it's fine if you want to break up with him, right?"

"No," you said quickly, shaking your head. "I don't wanna. Da-Eddie is nice to me. I mean, sometimes he makes me wanna cry, but nobody can be totally nice all the time."

"What does he do?" Nancy asked. "Because boyfriends aren't supposed to make you cry."

You shrugged, picking at a thread on your dress. You felt like you had done something wrong and was being berated and punished for it, and the tingle of tears hit your face again. This time, though, you didn't hold them back. "M'sorry," you whimpered. "Please don't be mad."

"We're not mad," Nancy said quickly as Robin reached out towards you, and she took the Tupperware of cookies away and held your hands tightly, comfortingly. "Sweetheart, we're not mad at all. We're just making sure that Eddie's being nice to you, that's all."

"Daddy's nice," you mumbled. "I promise. Just sometimes he hurts my feelings."

"But boyfriends shouldn't do that," Nancy said. "Trust me, I know."

"Oh, yeah," you sniffled, remembering another reason why you didn't really like Nancy. "You used to date Stevie." Maybe it was childish to hold a grudge against her for dating your crush, but you certainly did.

"Right," Nancy said.

"And she was miserable," Robin interjected. "We just don't want you to be miserable, y'know?"

"Mhm," you mumbled as the door to the side room opened again, and Eddie came out with a smile on his face. The smile was wiped, though, as soon as he saw your sniffly nose and red eyes.

"Are you crying?" Eddie asked, coming to you in an instant, putting an arm around your middle. "Why're you crying, princess? Did Nancy say something?"

"No," you hiccuped, but Eddie shot Nancy and Robin a dirty look anyway.

"Get out," Eddie said. "You show up here uninvited, you upset my girl, the fuck's the matter with you?"

"You need to take a good, long look at yourself if you're asking what's wrong with me," Nancy spat back. "You are taking advantage of this poor girl, and that's not okay, you need to—"

"Nancy, you need to go," Steve added. "C'mon, it was funny but now you've made her cry. Nobody wants you here anyway."

"Fine," Nancy said. She turned to you, though, as Robin gave you back your cookies, and she said, "If you ever need someone to talk to, please don't hesitate to talk to us. Alright?"

"Okay," you sniffled, cowering into Eddie's chest, and he set a kiss on your forehead as Nancy and Robin gathered their stuff and left, sending searing stares to the boys the whole time.

"Aw, princess," Eddie cooed softly once the door upstairs slammed shut, and he smoothed his hands down your face, cleaning up your tears and smeared makeup. "Nancy's so mean, isn't she? It's okay, you shouldn't cry over her."

"She-She was saying such bad things about you!" you hiccuped, and Eddie hummed softly as he held you while you cried. "I tried to tell her that y-you aren't mean, but she wouldn't believe me!"

"I know," Eddie whispered. "Now you see why Steve and I don't like her."

"It's okay, baby," Steve added, and he pressed a kiss to your hair. It felt nice for the boys to be holding you and kissing you, and you sniffled back your tears as Eddie pulled you down to one of the recliners, moving to the side so you could have the bulk of the chair.

"You were so good, though," Eddie said. "Standing up for me and everything, that was very sweet of you."

"O-Of course," you said, wiping your nose. "I won't let anyone say anything bad about you."

"Good girl," Eddie said. He angled your head up to face him, and he kissed your mouth softly for a moment before he titled his head and deepened the kiss, letting his mouth fall open against yours. You followed his lead, not really sure exactly what you were doing, and you squeaked when Eddie pushed his tongue between your open lips and into your mouth.

"Daddy?" you mumbled, and Eddie's arms wound around you, his hand settling on your ass.

"It's okay," he whispered. "This is how boyfriends and girlfriends kiss each other. Just like this..." He kissed you again, his tongue pushing past your lips once more, and those tingles from last Friday returned to your belly.

You were acutely aware of Stevie still in the room, sitting in his own recliner, and, when Eddie's messy kisses moved to your neck, you craned your head to look to Steve. You jumped a little when you saw how intensely he was watching you, his eyes never leaving your face, and you started, "Stevie?"

"I'm right here, baby," Steve said easily. "Don't you wanna show me what a good girl you are for Daddy?"

Eddie's lips on your neck made you shiver, and you nodded. "I'll be good," you said, and Eddie smiled into your neck.

"I know you will," he said. "Do you wanna pull down your dress and show Steve your tits? He's been dying to see them."

You started to nod, but one thing stopped you: Nancy's words about how apparently wrong it was that Eddie had seen your tits. Even though he had said not to listen to her, a small part of you had, and you squirmed underneath Eddie as you considered that, if it was wrong for Eddie to see them, then it was definitely wrong for Stevie to see them. "Um, not tonight," you said softly. "Just wanna watch the movie, I think."

"That's okay," Eddie said quickly before Steve could speak. "We can do that. Nothing wrong with that, right, Steve?"

"Right," Steve said, but you caught the edge of disappointment in his voice. "Want a beer, Ed? M'gonna run and grab me one."

Eddie tugged his face out of your neck and resituated you two to better fit on the recliner together, his arm around you as you sat in his lap, your legs dangling over the arm of the chair. "I shouldn't, I'm driving," he said, and he gave your shoulders a squeeze. "And I've got precious cargo. Got any Dr. Pepper instead?"

"I can find some," Steve said, and he stood up from his seat. "Want anything, pumpkin?"

It took you a second to realize that you were pumpkin, Stevie's pumpkin, and you said, "Milk?"

"Milk?" Steve repeated, his eyebrows furrowing.

"For the cookies."

"Oh, yeah," Steve said. "For your tasty little cookies. How could I forget?"

#bex answers #anon ask #bex's drabbles #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #perv!eddie #perv!eddie munson #perv!eddie munson x reader #joseph quinn #joseph quinn x reader #tw innocent reader

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frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe · 9 months

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yay!! the gift has been gifted, so here's the little ficlet i wrote for @thefreakandthehair's wedding gift zine!!! congratulations Lex!!!!!

pairing: steddie | word count: 1,313 | rated: G | on AO3: it started with the oven

It started with the oven.

Well, with him complaining about the oven, to be specific. The house those government folks put them up in after everything happened last year was new to them o’course, but nowhere near brand-spankin’. Still had some issues to work out.

“Sorry boys, roast might be a bit crispy on one side. Damn oven is acting up again.”

Wayne didn’t notice it that first time, but Steve immediately perked up, the look completely throwing off his attempted casualness about what he said next.

“I can help you fix it if you like.”

Without even looking at his nephew, Wayne knows they’re both giving Steve twin looks of confusion.

“You know how to fix an oven? How in the hell do you know how to fix an oven?” Eddie asks, half incredulous, half actually curious.

“I uh…had to figure it out once when ours went out…”

Wayne could hear the rest of that statement clear as day, though Steve stayed quiet after that. “It was either that, or go hungry.” Those goddamn Harringtons…

“Sure thing son, let's let it cool down and we can take a look at it.”

By time dinner is over, Eddie’s disappeared, back to his room to do god knows what while he and Steve pull the oven away from the wall.

The longer they work, the quieter Steve becomes. Knowing what he knows now, it was the nerves about what he wanted to ask, but to the Wayne in the moment, it was just nice to get some help around the house without also hearing loud complaining.

Steve tells Wayne what he’d done before to fix his, and Wayne gives him a couple other tips with other potential problems, and soon, the oven is once again able to heat evenly.

“Looks good, kid,” Wayne says, clapping a hand on Steve’s shoulder once they’ve got the thing pushed back where it goes.

He turns to put away his tool box, leaving the young man to do whatever it is he normally does with his nephew (gross), when Steve’s voice stops him.

“Wayne?”

“Hm?”

Steve falls quiet again, so Wayne turns, taking in Steve’s uncharacteristically anxious demeanor and now pale complexion.

“I–” Steve looks him in the eye, but only briefly. His gaze drops to the dirt on his hands, which he brushes off. “Nothing, just–thanks.” he finishes with a small smile, heading down the hall immediately after.

Wayne shrugs, going back to his toolbox. Odd. But whatever; glad to be of help with…whatever it was he helped with.

—

The next time, it was the front porch.

Luckily not ‘cause of anyone fallin’ through or anything, just about high time he got those front few planks replaced before someone does.

He says as much to his boys at dinner a few weeks after he and Steve fixed the oven, and Eddie volunteers himself for moral support.

“You just wanna see me shirtless and sweaty.” Steve accuses.

“Correct. Moral Support.” Ed sweeps his hand out and leans back in his chair.

“Do I hafta be shirtless too?”

Both boys loudly protest in answer, fake gags and all.

He and Steve get to work tearing out the old rotted boards a couple days later, and as expected, Eddie makes himself scarce within an hour. Something about “You guys workin’ this hard is making me thirsty. I’m gonna go grab milkshakes.”

“Moral Support my ass...” Wayne mumbles, shaking his head fondly.

Again, not long after Eddie’s gone, Steve’s easy conversation peters off; and again, Wayne just assumes he’s not quite used to being around him alone, or that he just prefers comfortable silence over chatter (something Wayne himself can appreciate).

He does come back in, however, after a long lull. “Wayne, I wanted to ask…”

Wayne doesn’t find out what Steve wanted though, as Eddie’s van rattles up the road at that moment, the promise of a cool treat too good to pass up for chattin’ with his boyfriend’s Uncle.

Though, as he watches Steve help Eddie out of the van, grabbing the milkshakes (and a quick kiss) from his boy, Wayne thinks he already knows what it is Steve was gonna ask.

And what his answer would be.

—

The third and final time was definitely the time.

This time, there was no pretense. Wayne and Steve weren’t already working on something together, no current excuse to talk without Eddie nearby. It was a Thursday evening and Wayne was alone at home about to head in for a shift.

Opening the door to a knock was weird though. Steve basically lived here, so opening the door to his wide-eyed, pale face was a shock.

“Steve? What’re knocking for, boy?”

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just–I’m–”

“You ‘right, son? C’mon inside now..” Wayne coaxes the kid inside, and Steve takes his shoes off automatically, lining them up along the messy pile of Eddie’s shoes just inside the door.

“Eddie’s at the Emersons’ y’know.” Wayne says, plopping back into his previously abandoned armchair.

“Y-yeah, I know, I just dropped him and Henderson off there for their game.”

They both fall quiet then.

Steve rubs the back of his neck nervously, and Wayne waits patiently.

…Okay, maybe not that patiently.

“Now look, Steve, not that I don’t appreciate spendin’ time wit’cha, ‘cause I do, but it seems t’me you came here for a reason.”

Steve’s gaze snaps up, mouth agape. “How’d you–nevermind.” he clears his throat and continues.

“Mr. Munson–”

“Nope, none’a that, not even for this. M’name’s Wayne, son.” He enjoys throwing Steve off sometimes, alright? Sue him.

All the breath in Steve’s lungs seems to escape at once and he smiles slightly, visibly relaxing just a tad.

Good.

“Wayne, Eddie and I have been dating for over a year now…obviously…you know that..”

“Is that what you two’ve been doin’? I thought you two were just the best of buds.”

This time, Steve actually laughs. “Shut up, I’m nervous, okay?”

“I know y’are, kiddo.”

He takes another settling breath, much calmer now, and continues. “I love him, Wayne. More than anything in my life.

“I know it’s not for real, I know, but I want him, and you, to know that I mean this to be forever. That if I could, I would marry him tomorrow.” Steve chuckles to himself at that, “Probably would’ve months ago, to be honest.

“All this to say—to ask! Ask…” he shuffles nervously again.

‘You got this, Steve, you’re almost there.’ Wayne thinks encouragingly at him.

As if he could hear him, Steve steels himself, looks Wayne in the eye, and (finally) says:

“Wayne, I would like your blessing to propose to Eddie.” He takes another short breath and presses on. “And I don’t want to hear anything about “Why’re you askin’ me, he’s not my kid.” or some crap, either. You’re the most important person in his life, and always will be. It may not be important to you, but it is to me… That you approve, I mean.”

Okay, he knew it was coming. But the added impassioned (and unnecessary) speech that came with it was a surprise. As if Steve was willing to fight Wayne for thinking Wayne wasn’t important to Eddie.

He stands, hefting himself out of the sunken springs of his chair, and immediately pulls Steve in for a hug.

“Good speech, son.” he says, squeezing the kid tightly for a moment before adding on, “Though I don’t think there was a single question mark in that whole rant o’yours.”

Steve laughs into his shoulder, beaming his wide bright smile when they separate.

“Do I have your blessing or not, old man?” he snarks, pulling a bellowing laugh out of Wayne.

“That’s more like it!” He claps a hand onto Steve’s shoulder. “And of course y’have it, Steve…

“I’d be proud to call you a Munson.”

you can read this one and the whole rest of the collection here!

#wayne pov is one of my fave things lmao #stranger things #st #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #wayne munson #the munsons my beloveds #wedding fic #LexsWeddingChallenge #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #noelle writes

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schrijverr · 9 months

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I Found Myself a Cheerleader 11

Chapter 11 out of 28

Bumped to the lowest step on the social ladder after his fight with Billy, Steve gets roped in with the cheer team. What starts as a favor to help them out when one member breaks her leg in turn for protection from the brunt of the bullying, sets the universe on a different path.

In this chapter, Steve decides to stay in Hawkins and El insists he takes the cabin to live in. She says her goodbyes to her old home as Steve attempts to make it his own. Max moves too and Steve runs into Eddie again, who offers him to help patch up the cabin.

On AO3.

Ships: steddie and buckingham (yes, they're finally becoming important enough to the plot to not put eventual in front of them, yay)

Warnings: grief, f-slur, homophobia mention, child abuse mention

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 11: The Cabin

Once the emotions of the funeral have lessened slightly, Joyce and Steve sit down with El again to talk about the cabin Hopper left her.

Steve explains that he can find a place to stay and she doesn’t have to give it to him, explains to her property ownership and benefits that he picked up from his father, and that she doesn’t have to feel guilty about Hopper not taking him in, because Steve has other places to stay as well.

Joyce assures her that she isn’t going to sell it or do anything El doesn’t want her to to the property until it can go to El when she turns 18.

However, El stays with her decision stubbornly, insisting that Steve get the cabin. But Steve can’t fully let her do that.

“Okay, how about this,” Steve says. “We’ll draw up a contract that says I get to live in it until you turn 18 or I want to move out. Or even earlier. I am not going to live there forever and I want you to be able to return to it. You’ll be my landlord, you get to decide about the property and I’ll have a place to live. How does that sound?”

El cocks her head to the side in that sweet confused manner she gets sometimes, a small frown on her face and says: “Landlord?”

And Steve remembers that she has no upbringing in corporate America like he has, in fact she doesn’t even have an American upbringing at all. Just a lab one. So, he breaks it down and explains until she understands.

Next to him Joyce gives him huge eyes as he breaks down contracts to El and Steve feels a bit self conscious. He isn’t the smartest of the group and he knows it, but Joyce is looking impressed with him, even though he is just parroting what he heard.

Once El understands, she nods and says: “That is good for me. I want to do that.”

“Then we’re going to make that happen,” Steve smiles at her and she smiles back, the first smile since the 4th of July.

With that decided and promised, El leaves the table again. Joyce had already told him she’s been watching TV all day, as if she is still waiting for Hopper to come home like she used. This poor little girl, who has already been through too much.

However, they don’t talk about that now, instead Joyce says: “I didn’t know you know so much about contracts.”

“I- I don’t really,” Steve tells her, rubbing the back of his head. “I just know stuff from hearing my father talk.”

“You know more than me,” Joyce grins crookedly, chuckling slightly as Steve follows. Then she turns serious and repeats as she has done so often the past few days: “You can always change your mind and come with us, you know that right, honey?”

“Yes, I know,” he promises like he always does, still touched that she is making sure, when she should be glad this is a way out of the feeling of having to pay him back for something she doesn’t have to pay him back for, but she isn’t. Almost makes him believe she means.

“Just making sure,” she says, part of the standard interaction they have about this.

The last time they have that conversation is at the lawyer’s office where they get everything set up, so it goes how they want it to. Steve is officially staying in Hawkins and while he knows he has made the right decision, he can’t help but feel like he has shut down a possible road that might have changed his life forever.

It’s after making it official that they go to the cabin they’ve been ignoring since that night, no one ready to face the empty home where Hopper lived, a Hopper who isn’t coming back.

Steve and Joyce hadn’t been there when the Mind Flayer attacked it, but Steve was preparing himself for the worst. Still, the gaps in the roof made him swallow. He is grateful El refused to let him pay rent, but he doesn’t know how he’s going to live there.

Joyce also grimaces at the damage, but follows El inside. The girl walking through the ruined cabin like it is holy land.

They give her a moment to say goodbye to the place. Today, they’re packing stuff, so she can stay more comfortably with Joyce. Later they’re packing all the other stuff for the move. They wanted her return here to be private.

After a few moments of peace, Joyce gently coaxes her to her room and they pack a few sets of clothes together, while Steve walks around. Despite the mess and lack of space, he can already tell this used to be a home with love in it and his heart aches again for Hopper, who made a little girl feel welcome and at home, how that little girl lost that home too soon.

The worst are the holes in the roof and a few broken windows, all in all, it looks worse than it is and Steve is more confident about being able to restore it.

However, it is not just his place. It’s Hopper’s and, more importantly, it is El’s. So, when she comes out with Joyce, who brings her bag to the car, he asks her: “Is there anything you would like me to keep the same? I can keep your room the same, or maybe the couch or the kitchen?”

“You can change it, except for Hopper’s room,” she tells him in a serious voice. “I-” emotion starts to creep in, “I want him to be able to come home.”

And Steve knows that he should tell her that Hopper isn’t coming home, that he is gone for good and she is going to have to learn to live with that. But he can’t tell her that. They both know she is aware of that, but this is the man that gave her a home and she wants to do the same for him. And Steve isn’t going to be the one to deny her that.

So, he nods and says: “Of course I’ll keep his room the same. Want to see if there is anything you want to take to remember him by?” She looks apprehensive, so he adds: “Something he has to come get?”

At that she nods, a small smile on her lips. Steve puts a gentle hand on her shoulder and leads her to the room. Some day, El is going to break his heart in a way he won’t recover from.

El looks tentative as she steps into the room. A few keepsakes have been recovered for the will, but beyond that, the room is untouched. It is truly like Hopper will return any time and it is clear El seems hesitant to break it.

Steve himself isn’t sure what to do either, but Joyce, god bless her, comes in and opens the door, going through some of the clothes and asking El: “Would you like to bring a few of his warm shirts for the winter?”

That draws El in and soon she is looking for something she can bring with her and can keep safe when she goes. She takes two of his shirts in the end and one of the books he used to read to her when she first came to live with him, as well as the dictionary.

As they do that, Steve brings in the boxes that the others are going to use a few days later to pack the rest of the stuff, before they move away.

When the others pack, Steve can’t be there. He is with Robin, trying to find a new job. The Buckleys have been kind enough to let him stay until he can get his own place in order and he is super thankful, but he doesn’t want to mooch for the time he stays there.

As they get out of the car Robin – who has been judging his CV all the way there – asks: “Did you seriously put coach Miller down as reference?”

“Yeah, why not?” Steve counters. “She’s like super well-respected and she can vouch for me being a hard worker.”

“You’re such a dingus,” Robin complains with a smile.

“Shut up,” Steve pouts, stopping her before they can go in. “Do you think we’ll get the job?”

“Course,” Robin says with confidence. “You have a bruise on your face, same as when you started working for Scoops Ahoy. It’s your good luck charm.”

“Wha-” Steve starts, but Robin has already gone into the store, so he just quickly follows after her as to not get left behind.

Miraculously, Robin manages to talk Keith into giving both of them a job, which is a hundred worries from Steve’s shoulders. He still has quite a bit from when he saved up, but most of that will likely disappear into repairs and he does still need to eat.

Saying goodbye to the Byers, however, is one of the hardest things they’ve ever done. Steve’s life has been intertwined with them for two years, but he’s only gotten to know them two months ago and those have been the best of his life, despite it all.

He hasn’t really found the time to talk with Will, but manages a few words, before he gets into the car. Will is hugging him goodbye and he whispers: “Hey, baby Byers, sorry for brushing you off in the kitchen. It was the reason, but I’m okay now and you’re going to be okay too.”

Will looks at him, Steve sees that it takes a few moments to click. When it does, Will clings to him again and whispers: “Thank you,” before Jonathan is yelling at him to get into the car.

It’s not perfect, it’s not how Steve wanted it to go, but it’s a little bit of hope that he can give Will on his journey to this new place with a clean slate.

A week after the Byers leave, the divorce that’s been hanging in the air since Billy’s death finally goes through and Max moves to the trailer park with her mom.

Susan has to work, but Steve is off that day. He is still figuring out how he can go about his own renovations, so he isn’t missing out on much work time by offering to help. So, it’s just him and Max carrying the boxes that day.

Max has been a little quiet ever since Billy’s death, but she doesn’t look too unhappy with the divorce. Steve might not have known much about how her home life was, but he can’t imagine it had been the best, if he looks at how Billy had been.

However, he isn’t going to mention it, instead enjoying the time he can spend with her. Calling for a break that they enjoy on the steps of her new house and busting out her favorite soda.

It’s during this break that a familiar voice calls out to them. It is Eddie, who exclaims: “I thought I recognized that car. What are you doing out here, Steve? Finally found a place?”

A year ago the words would've been mocking from Eddie’s mouth and to anyone, who doesn’t know them, it might sound like that still, but Steve knows what Eddie knows, so he just smiles and shakes his head. “Nah, helping this squirt move,” he answers, ruffling Max’s hair.

Max bats him away and glares at him, before turning to scowl at Eddie, asking: “What’s it to you anyway?”

“Love the attitude. You’ll fit right in,” Eddie grins, dimples showing again. “Me and my uncle live over there.” He points at one of the trailers across from Max’s. “Come by if you need anything. Me and Stevie here used to go to high school together, you’ll see me there as well.”

At that Max gives him a judgmental one over. Before she can say anything about it, Steve steps in and says: “Thanks, man.”

“Course,” Eddie smiles, sitting down with them as well. He asks: “So, what about you? Still staying at that friend?”

“I’m going to move into Hopper’s old cabin,” Steve tells him. “Still under renovations now and by that I mean that I’m still trying to figure out how to patch a roof and replace windows. But when I figure it out, I’m set. Until then I’m staying at the Buckley’s.”

“Robin’s place?” Eddie asks, looking surprised. “How do you know her?”

“We worked at Scoops together,” Steve explains. “Before the mall burned down.”

“Shit, man, I heard about that, you okay?” Eddie asks with a frown. Steve is glad his face is healed up a bit to make it seem less bad, it wasn’t his intention to make Eddie worry. It wasn’t even his intention to make the mall a topic of conversation after what happened there.

Steve shoots a look to Max, who has turned into herself when the mall was mentioned. He winces at his own stupidity for bringing it up. “Yeah, uhm, it’s fine. Rather not talk about it.”

“Yeah, no, of course,” Eddie says, eyes also flicking to Max, before shooting Steve a questioning look.

He shakes his head and prays Eddie understands that he should stop talking. To divert the subject he says: “Customer service truly bonds people. There is no hell like it. We’re actually working at Family Video now.”

“Do they have better uniforms?” Eddie asks with an evil glint in his eyes. His beautiful, evil eyes.

“Oh shut up,” Steve laughs, inside burning with embarrassment as he remembers facing Eddie in that stupid sailor uniform.

“No, it was cute on you,” Eddie laughs in a way that could be meant or could be a joke. Steve can’t tell which and it sends him reeling.

Before he can do something stupid, however, Max has shaken her own mood and joins forces with Eddie, which is unfair, by the way. “Yeah, Steve, very cute.”

“Don’t turn against me now, Mayfield,” he warns, though it’s partially joking.

She just sticks out her tongue in turn and continues to mock him with Eddie for a few more minutes and he can’t even be mad, because he’s just glad to see her happy again. And seeing Eddie get along with his kids is sweet. It does something to him, sue him.

After a while Eddie gets up and Steve tries not to pout, not sure if he’s successful. Before he can leave, though, Eddie stops and turns around to offer: “I might not be certified, but I know quite a bit about patching up houses. I can come by and check it out, see if I can help.”

“That would be great. Thanks, dude,” Steve jumps on it, not only because spending more time with Eddie sounds amazing, but also because he doesn’t know anyone else with any sort of expertise.

When Eddie is gone, Max says: “He doesn’t look like the usual type you hang out with. He’s at least not much of a cheerleader.”

Steve laughs at the image of Eddie trying to do cheer, before shaking his head: “He’s not. I was kind of a dick to him for a bit there, but he’s cool. He was nice to me.”

“Then he can stay, I guess,” Max says and Steve wants to hug her for that, but knows it won’t be welcome, so instead ruffles her hair again.

He doesn’t care that she knows he’s staying at the Buckley’s. All the kids had figured out something was up after the funeral when they couldn't find Steve at his house when they wanted to check in on him and Will told them where Steve was. But Max knows to keep things to herself.

All of them have yet to comment on it and Steve is trying to keep it like that. So, he doesn’t bring that bit of conversation up to Max as they go back to moving.

When Max is all settled in and her mom back from work with groceries, Steve leaves the two for the evening and drives down to the Buckley’s for dinner. It’s crazy how quickly he has become comfortable in their home, but Daisy and Thomas have an air of non-judgment around them and are a few of the kindest people Steve has ever met.

After dinner, he finds himself on Robin’s bed that is more their bed. It’s kind of tradition. She asks him: “How was moving with Max?”

“Good,” Steve tells her. “Did you know Eddie lives at the trailer camp too? He came up to us when we were taking a break.”

Robin shoots up from where she’d been lying next to him and exclaims: “You talked to him! Like genuinely talked to him? Your crush. Oh my god, how did it go?”

“We talked before,” Steve blushes, not yet having told Robin the extend of it, because he doesn’t want to out Eddie, even if Robin would be cool.

“Him saving you like a damsel once doesn’t count,” Robin argues, poking him in his ribs with her toes. “Come on, spill!”

“Well, he asked if I was moving in, uhm, we kinda ran into each other after I got kicked out,” Steve starts. “I told him no, introduced him to Max. They got along.”

“He knows you got kicked out?” Robin asks.

“I was kind of in shock when I told him. He promised not to tell,” Steve explains. “But I did tell him I was staying here now, but that I was moving into Hopper’s old place. He- he offered to help patch the roof. So, I’ll call him about that tomorrow.”

Steve knows he’s not meeting Robin’s eyes on purpose and so does Robin. She squeals and hits him in the chest, before shaking him. “Holy shit, dingus! You’re going to be hanging out with Eddie, this is huge! I’m so proud of you. After Scoops I was worried you didn’t have any game left from your heyday.”

“Oi, don’t be a bitch, Robs,” Steve scoffs, pushing her over, but he’s grinning too. It’s not a date, that is way too scary, but it’s a foot in the door.

“I get to be a bitch about this,” Robin tells him, also grinning.

“Why?” Steve complains.

“Best friends rights,” she informs him gleefully. “I want all the details, okay? I demand them, in fact, because if I can’t even live vicariously through you then what is the point of finding another queer person in this little shit town?”

“I feel used,” Steve pouts, without meaning it.

“Get used to it, dingus, because I want to know everything,” Robin tells him. “Even if you two do disgusting things together. I want to know.” She pauses for a bit, seeming anxious suddenly. “But also be safe, you hear me? I mean it. Like, Eddie seems cool and all, but don’t do something stupid because you like him. I’ve seen you bruised too often for my liking, okay?”

Steve is touched by her concern. He knows Eddie at least won’t beat him up for being gay, but this might end with him getting his heart broken by pretty eyes and a vibrant personality. Which is a whole different risk.

It’s nice to know he has Robin to catch him if he falls. She feels like his forever person and he chokes up a bit as he promises: “I’ll be safe, Robs. Promise.”

“Good,” Robin nods decisively, before smiling again and grilling him about his not-date and if he has anything good to wear that won’t be too obvious, but also cute, before wondering why he likes Eddie again.

They stay up late together, gossiping. It’s fun and an easy distraction from how hard falling asleep has been recently. Steve wonders how he’s going to sleep again when he moves out of the Buckley house.

He waits until he’s working before calling Eddie, so he has an excuse of work if it gets awkward and he wants to hang up. Robin is keeping a look out for Keith and distracting customers that come in. Chrissy often hangs around Family Video when they work, but is out of town with her mom today, which works in their favor.

Eddie sounds surprised that he even called, which almost makes Steve hang up. However, surprise turns to delight and that soothes Steve’s frazzled nerves enough to stay on the line and explain how he would appreciate help with the roof or windows, if Eddie knows anything about those.

“Roof, I can help with,” Eddie says, his smooth voice so close to Steve’s ear as it comes through the phone speaker. “Do you have something to write down a list of things you need?”

“Yeah, course,” Steve replies, scrambling for a piece of paper, gratefully taking the pen Robin hands him.

After Steve has his list, he tells Eddie how to get to the cabin, since it is quite remote. When he is done Eddie whistles: “Damn, what was he doing all the way out there?”

“Hiding from the government,” Steve says, filter momentarily out the window. Robin whips around as she hears that with a ‘what the fuck, dingus’ look on her face. Steve cringes as he looks back at her, a bit mortified.

Luckily, Eddie just laughs and says: “Sure, Stevie, I’m sure that was what he was doing. Probably liked the peace and quiet.”

“He did,” Steve says softly, glad the crisis is averted and suddenly thinking of Hopper again. His loss still hurts, but Steve is slowly getting used to it. Eddie is quiet at Steve’s tone, so he clears his throat and smiles again, even though Eddie can’t see. “I’ll see you there then.”

“Yeah, see you,” Eddie replies and they both hang up.

“That was only mildly pathetic,” Robin gives an honest review once Steve has hung up, the two of the using the rest of the shift dissecting the phone call, before delving into their usual bickering and arguments.

Steve drives by a shop after work to get everything of the list. The shopkeeper looks surprised at his purchases, so Steve explains: “I’m moving out, but it’s a bit of a fix-her-upper,” which is what he wants to go around, instead of him being kicked out.

The shopkeeper doesn’t look like he fully buys it, but all the stuff must pass some kind of test, because he just nods and says: “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Steve nods, awkwardly, before hightailing out of there with his stuff.

A few days later, Steve is meeting Eddie at the cabin. He makes sure to be there first, so Eddie won’t have to wait for him. He is sitting on the porch steps when Eddie comes pulling up in his van with loud music coming from the speakers.

The engine and music cut out and Eddie scrambles out the car in an outfit that has Steve’s mouth running dry.

It’s nothing spectacular, just denim shorts that come to his knees and a gray tank top, but Steve has never seen so much skin on Eddie, plus his hair is up in a bun, which is designed to kill Steve, he’s sure of it. All that neck. He wants to bite it. Instead he has to act normal as Eddie greets: “Hey, man.”

“Hey,” he replies in a voice that is a shade away from normal. He swallows, then adds: “Find it all okay? Thanks for coming out, by the way.”

“Course, dude,” Eddie says. “And I found it okay. Just not sure why anyone would live all the way out there, but that will just be a mystery.”

“I think it’s quite peaceful,” Steve tells him, before asking: “So, I have all you told me to get, how do you want to do this?”

“Just get on the roof and get started,” Eddie informs him happily and Steve totally doesn’t look as he hauls a toolkit out of his van, muscles straining under the weight. “My uncle Wayne let me borrow this, so we’re set for tools. You got a ladder?”

“Yup, yes, I do,” Steve fumbles, cursing that he never had the cool others thought he had, his girlfriends just didn’t affect him like Eddie does.

To distract from that fact, he goes and gets the ladder, so they can get on the roof, a miscalculation on his part, since he is now stuck behind Eddie on the ladder, having a view of his ass and back muscles as Eddie hoists what they need onto the roof while Steve hands it to him.

He is already flushed when he gets onto the roof as well and prays that Eddie doesn’t comment on it, because he doesn’t have an excuse ready.

Luckily, Eddie isn’t looking his way, instead busying himself with the stuff they got up there, looking a little flushed from the hauling. He inspects the holes in the roof, before showing Steve how to redo the roof tiles, before moving on to the next hole, while Steve gets the tiles.

Now, Steve realizes, he shouldn’t have counted his blessings so early, because the sun is hotter on the roof. So, when Steve looks up, he sees Eddie in all his sweaty glory.

It feels a bit like a movie scene. It’s almost slow motion. Steve looks up right as Eddie puts in the last nail, arm muscles that are usually hidden by the leather jacket now on display. Then he blows away a piece of hair, one of those strands Steve has always wanted to tuck behind his ear, before lifting his tank top to wipe the sweat off his face. There is a dark patch of hair going down from his bellybutton.

Steve rips his eyes away, before Eddie can look his way, determined not to look up again until they’ve patched all the holes in the roof.

That resolution only lasts for about two seconds, because he looks up when Eddie says: “Curious holes. Wonder how they got here.”

While Steve hadn��t been here when they happened, he can still clearly picture the Mind Flayer as it chased Nancy’s car. All of them crammed in there as Dustin sang with his girlfriend. He shudders, then shakes his head, before shrugging: “I don’t know. They were here when I got it.”

He hopes Eddie stops asking, because Steve will lie to him. He knows better than to say anything, but it has always been easy to talk to Eddie and he does not want to open that can of worms. If he has his way, Eddie will never know of the fucked things that go on in Hawkins.

“Maybe some assholes with fireworks,” Eddie says. “I mean, I won’t claim I was friendly with the Chief, fuck the police and all that, but he always left me off with a warning, which I appreciated, you know?”

Steve smiles a bit sadly at Hopper’s memory, the ache getting easier to deal with, though it never really leaves. He shrugs and says: “Probably.”

Eddie gives him a look, which Steve meets for a second, before looking down at the roof tiles again, not wanting to talk about Hopper more. Eddie seems to sense that, because he drops the conversation and gets back to work, the air a little tense around them now.

However, after a minute or so Eddie starts whistling, then humming some song that Steve doesn’t recognize and that tension dissipates.

They work together for some time. Both of them are sweating under the sun and Steve is starting to regret not taking one of Robin’s hair clips, because he didn’t want to look like a dork in front of Eddie. So, his hair is sweaty and in his face. He pushes said sweaty hair out of his face with a huff and asks: “Break?”

He looks over at Eddie, who is also red from the sun, Steve wonders if he put sunscreen on. Eddie looks surprised, then wipes off that look and replaces it with a grin. “Sure.”

Eddie goes to sit down on the roof. They took a few beers up there, which are no longer cold, but that doesn’t stop Eddie from popping one open with his ring and taking a sip with a sigh. Then he offers one to Steve with a crooked smile that has his heart flipping.

Steve smiles back and hopes his heart gymnastics don’t show on his face as he sits down next to Eddie, accepting the beer. He takes a long sip then sighs.

When he looks back he meets Eddie’s eyes, quirking a brow at him. Eddie goes to pull some hair in front of his face, realizes it’s up, then winces awkwardly and chuckles, taking a swig of his own lukewarm beer.

“Hey, you don’t have to say, man, but I got to wonder,” Eddie breaks the silence, lying back in a highly distracting manner. “How did you get Hopper’s house? Like how did that happen?”

Steve lies down as well, trying not to think of how close they are – almost touching – as he looks up at the trees surrounding the cabin and the clear sky. He sighs, trying to figure out how much he can say and answers: “It’s a long story.”

“I dig long stories,” Eddie tells him and when Steve looks at the sound of movement, Eddie has turned his head to look right at him.

From this nearby he can make out the almost indiscernible freckles that dust Eddie’s nose and cheeks. His dark eyes inquiring, curiosity obvious in them. Steve is reminded of that day in the forest, how Eddie never seemed to run out of questions. Curiosity is baked into his DNA, Steve thinks and hopes that it won’t get him killed one day.

The thought is sobering and he breaks the moment by look back at the sky. He sighs again, before saying: “Hopper wanted to take me in when I got kicked out.”

“What?” Eddie chokes, sounding caught between a surprised squeak and a disbelieving chuckle.

“I know,” Steve replies, lopsided smile on his face. “He was out looking for me that night. Heard what had happened from Joyce, who heard it from Jonathan.”

“Wait, Jonathan Byers?” Eddie asks, frowning. “Didn’t you guys fight two years ago?”

“Jup,” Steve nods, popping the p. “It’s a long story as well. I mean, we never became friends or anything, but, you know, we know each other.”

“Alright,” Eddie says, sounding a bit unsure about the whole thing. Then, still sounding confused, he asks: “So, Hopper wanted to let you stay and then? Put you in his will?”

“Oh, no!” Steve quickly dispels that idea. “No, not that at all. He has a kid. A little girl. She’s super cool and an absolute sweetheart. She went with the Byers to California a few weeks back. Trying to get used to a life without her dad. Fresh start and all that.”

“Jesus H. Christ, man, I didn’t know he had a kid,” Eddie whistles. “Poor girl.”

“Yeah, she’s a tough cookie, but has already gone through so much,” Steve agrees. He likely will never get over the injustice that has been El’s life so far.

“I hate the world sometimes,” Eddie sighs.

“Me too, dude, me too,” Steve agrees, both of them falling into a comfortable silence for a moment, lying on the roof under the summer sun.

After a few seconds, he explains: “She got the house. She wanted to give it to me at first, because she is too sweet for her own good. We made a contract I could live here until she wanted the house back.”

“She sounds like a good egg,” Eddie tells him, tone indicating he heard the fondness Steve holds for El in his voice.

“She is,” Steve smiles, looking back at Eddie, who is still looking at him.

Eddie smiles at him, dimples appearing on his cheeks. Steve kind of wants to lean in and plant a kiss on his nose, see if he scrunches it if he does. But he manages to stop himself.

However, Steve doesn’t know if the intent was on his face, because Eddie raises a brow as he grins and laughs: “What? Have something on my face?”

“No,” Steve quickly says. “Just got lost in thought, you know. I wonder if she is settling in okay. I haven’t really spoken to her. Don’t want to run up the Buckley’s phone bill too much.”

Eddie nods understandingly and Steve truly does get the feeling that Eddie gets it. It’s a little crazy and he tries not to let his brain run wild with the idea of Eddie and him matching so well. He is only just starting to get the know the other boy.

That thought is not helped when Eddie seems to sense he not to ask more about El, instead asking: “So, how’s living with the Buckley’s been?”

“A little insane,” Steve replies honestly. He’s already told Eddie he got kicked out and showed him the shiner his father gave him. “They’re so nice, like all the time. I’m waiting for their hospitality to run out at this point.”

“Fuck, man, I hear you,” Eddie chuckles. “It’s been years and I’m still waiting for the day uncle Wayne gets tired of me.”

Steve has never met Eddie’s uncle, only having seen him once or twice in town. He looked stern then, but he also remembers what Eddie said about his uncle’s habit of taking in strays, seemingly referring to himself. His voice was full of warmth then. Cautiously he asks: “You really think that will happen?”

Eddie looks almost surprised at that, eyes widening, before he laughs that deep laugh Steve adores so much. He shakes his head and sits back up: “Nah, man, I don’t know why, but uncle Wayne and me are in it for the long haul.”

“That’s good,” Steve says, following him up. Their beers have warmed up even more as they laid down and Steve scrunches his nose up in disgust.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is,” Eddie says softly and when Steve looks at him he off staring of into the distance with far away eyes.

“You okay?” Steve asks, daring to nudge Eddie’s foot with his own.

“Hm?” Eddie turns back to him with a soft noise, before he shakes off the melancholic vibe around him with a smile. “Yeah, I am. Just thinking, you know, how lucky I got with my uncle. I mean, my parents never kicked me out for being a fag – didn’t get the chance with police after them – but they would have if they ever did.”

“Damn, dude, that sucks,” Steve tells him, in a manner that is hopefully sympathetic. He has never been the best with comforting.

“Yeah, you can say that,” Eddie laughs, luckily not upset at his attempt, but amused by it. “But it’s okay. They never liked me and I never liked them. It happens sometimes. And uncle Wayne will never kick me out.”

“He won’t?” Steve asks curiously, Eddie sounding very confident about it in his opinion. Maybe a bit too confident. One can never really know.

Eddie looks at him, blowing a piece of hair out of his face again that has Steve’s palms itching, and shakes his head: “No, he won’t. He already knows.”

“What?” Steve feels like his eyes are falling out of his socket and his face must be amusing, because Eddie bursts out in laughter.

After a few chuckles he says: “Yeah, he knows. Some people are cool, Stevie. Mark my words, the world is changing. Not now, not tomorrow, but give it two decades and we’re going to be just fine, I promise.”

“Bold claim,” Steve tells him, slightly skeptic, yet also cheered up. It’s nice to have hope like Eddie does. Nice to know there are parental figures out there who accept their queer kids.

“I’m an idealist, what can I say,” Eddie grins, then chugs his beer, Steve tracking his adam’s apple as he does. Then he gets up with a: “Let’s get these holes filled,” before snorting at how dirty it sounds.

Steve tries not to think of the innuendo in Eddie’s voice and instead gets back to work as well. He wants the roof to be fixed and doesn’t want to seem like a slacker who makes Eddie do all the work or something.

Though, he does take a moment to watch Eddie work with the tools. It’s hot. Eddie is. He is sweating, but he also just looks a bit like one of those gods they read about in history once. The Greek ones.

The image of Eddie sweaty in the sunlight on that roof will be in his mind forever.

They manage to fix the entire roof together and afterwards Steve buys them both a pizza to thank Eddie for his help. They eat it on the porch of the cabin. Eddie talks about the campaign he’s making for his club, not at all concerned or thinking of any of the subjects he has to retake again this year.

Steve envies how easily Eddie shrugs things off and moves on. He doesn’t care that he has to do senior year again. He doesn’t care that people think he’s weird. He doesn’t care what they whisper about him as he passes. He just shrugs it all off and walks on with his head held high. Steve is trying to have a bit of that confidence too, the defiance to be himself.

Still, he doesn’t say that, just tries to follow the best he can with what he knows from the kids rambling to him.

It’s nice to sit like that. The two of them with pizza, beer and the sunset, sweaty from the work, but feeling accomplished. It’s nothing big yet, just one day together, just Eddie helping him out. But it feels like it can be the start of something.

After the pizza they say goodbye. Steve could have sat there for hours more with Eddie, but he doesn’t want to come across as eager and he also doesn’t want to get to the Buckley’s too late and wake them up.

So, he tells Eddie he can always come by and that if he wants to rent a movie, it’s on Steve, before he goes his separate way.

In the evening, Robin forces him to tell her everything again, yelling and slapping when he talks about how hot Eddie looked when sweating, but grinning all the way. This is what he has always wanted to do when he heard the cheerleaders discussing their crushes and now he can.

A/N:

Okay, but hear me out, Steve feeling the need to fill Hopper’s shoes and not doing it by protecting El for him, but by rebuilding the house he made for El, I’m weeping

#rr writing #stranger things #steve harrington #steddie #eddie munson #robin buckley #platonic stobin #buckingham #st post season 3 #cheerleader steve harrington au #eleven hopper #steve and eleven #joyce byers #parental joyce byers #max mayfield #tw: child abuse mention #tw: f slur #tw: homophobia mention #tw: grief

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